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    copy of Keplers Second Law Activity Sheet

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    copy of Keplers Second Law Activity Sheet

    Uploaded by

    evpique07
    1 views4 pages

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    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    1 views4 pages

    copy of Keplers Second Law Activity Sheet

    Uploaded by

    evpique07

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    1

    Kepler’s Laws Activity Sheet: Second Law

    Course:

    Context (student grade level, Can be used in any middle to higher educational level. Some basic
    ages, required prior knowledge, geometric notions would be good to facilitate the discussion.
    special needs, etc.):

    PhET sim (name and link): Kepler’s Laws: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/keplers-laws

    Learning Goals
    ● Explore how the velocity and position of a planet affect the shape of its orbit.

    ● Visualize what is meant by “swept area of a planet’s orbit” and its relationship with equal time intervals in
    the context of Kepler’s second Law.
    ● Describe the behavior of the planet's velocity in different moments of its orbit.

    Pre-lab Activity
    Look at the following image::

    1. The picture represents an ellipse whose area has been divided into 4 parts. Which of these parts do you
    think has the greatest area? Order them from least to greatest area.

    Since the areas of the regions would be determined by the dimensions of the ellipse, and the division is regular
    each of the four regions will contain equal area.
    A,b,c,d
    2

    2. This ellipse represents the orbit of the pink planet moving around the yellow sun. In which part of the
    orbit is the planet going to move faster?
    It is going to move faster when it is around A or B

    3. Order sections A, B, C and D according to the amount of time it will take the planet to go through them.
    It will go faster in A+B , and slower in B+C
    4. Will there be a difference in the time it takes the planet to go through A+B versus D+C?

    No because they are equal


    3

    Open Play
    Allow 5 min to play with the PhET sim. Kepler’s Laws - Second Law. Describe three main things you have
    discovered:
    ●
    ●
    ●

    Share your discoveries with the rest of the group.

    Collect and Interpret Data


    Important Orbital Points

    1. Activate these checkboxes and play with different orbits. Then, define in
    your words what are periapsis and apoapsis.

    Periapsis is…is the closest point of orbit, where the object moves fastest.

    Apopasis is… is the farthest point of orbit, where the object moves slowest.

    2. Look in the web for alternate names for these points, and how they are called in other types of orbits:

    Type of Orbit Name for Apoapsis Name for Periapsis

    Orbit around the Sun Aphelion Perihelion

    Orbit around the Earth Apogee Perigee

    Other interesting orbit? Aposelene Periselene


    ______________________

    3. How does the velocity change when the planet is on periapsis versus apoapsis?
    The velocity of a planet in its orbit changes depending on its position in the orbit, specifically when it is
    at periapsis versus apoapsis
    4

    Synthesis of Kepler’s Second Law


    4. Look on the internet or in books the statement of Kepler’s first Law and write it here:

    Kepler's first law means that planets move around the Sun in elliptical orbits. An
    ellipse is a shape that resembles a flattened circle. How much the circle is
    flattened is expressed by its eccentricity. The eccentricity is a number between 0
    and 1

    a. Based on what you learned from this activity, try to explain this law to an elementary school
    student using your own words. You can include pictures and screenshots of the simulation!

    Think about a planet moving around the Sun, like how Earth moves around the Sun. The path the planet takes
    is kind of like an oval, and we call this an orbit

    Kepler's Second Law says that if you draw an imaginary line between the planet and the sun , this line will
    sweep out the same area in the same amount of time, no matter where the planet is in its orbit.

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